Threatened to close at the end of the year due to increasing debt, Darby residents and officials are speaking out on the potential closing of Darby Free Library at the end of the year, news that has taken many by surprise.

Thomas had heard about the library’s closing when her grandson showed her the story on his tablet Thursday night. Come Friday morning, Thomas expressed her disappointment and sadness.

“We’re very upset because (library board President Jay Mccalla) should have approached us first and we would have taken care of the library for him,” said Thomas. “We are Darby Borough and we try to take care of everything here in Darby.”

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Mccalla has said the library has been suffering silently, shouldering a burden without “crying the blues,” until now.

The burden that Mccalla and the library holds is a $15,000 operating deficit for the first half of 2014 alone, and on top of it is over $7,000 in electrical work needed for the 19th-century building it occupies on 1001 Main St.

Profit and loss records from the library show a $50,000 gap in funding over the past five years.

“We didn’t know the library needed the money and they didn’t ask the borough for anything,” said Thomas Friday afternoon. The last time the library asked for a substantial amount of money resulted in a tax increase for the borough, but double the amount of funds.

Noting that the library has been using old computers, as well as a minor leak in the roof, Thomas said she would be more than happy to donate computers that were poised for the borough’s new offices on Ridge Avenue, around the corner from the library.

“We do have computers that can go there, but we just need to take what’s on there off and they can have them. If the roof’s bad, (Mccalla) should have said something,” said Thomas.

Thomas and Mccalla both plan to meet to discuss the library’s future.

At the state level, state Rep. Ron Waters, D-191, of Philadelphia, expressed his shock at the news.

“For the historical institution like that to be at risk to close is truly disappointing,” Waters said Monday morning.

Adding Darby to his legislative district by year’s end, Waters has a vested interest in the library. This summer he started a book report competition for the William Penn School District and Blessed Virgin Mary School at the library, with cash prizes totaling $2,100 to be awarded to area students.

Waters said the library is cherished by those in the community, where over 1,500 people a month use it for its many resources, including computer access.

Resident Bestman Quiah is one such resident who goes to the library to use the computer.

“I use it for job hunting, doing school work, doing my printing if I need to,” said Quiah, who has been using the library for the past 10 years since he’s moved to Darby. “If you walk in there, you’ll always find people in there using the computers and looking for work.”

Quiah added that it would be a blow to the community if it closed, and had he known it might close he would do what he could to help.

At this point, money is the only thing that can help, and local and state leaders are figuring out how to get it.

“We found a way a couple years ago, we’ll find a way again,” said Thomas, referring to 2009 when, again on the verge of closing, an increase of donations and borough funds kept it open.

Waters said he hopes attention to the library will once again bring in a rush of money to the library, but he doesn’t want it to “stop coming in so we don’t have to worry about this going forward.” Though not guaranteeing any money from the state to help, he hopes to bring some of his colleagues to tour the library to give them a better understanding of it.

“We should have a tour of Pennsylvania libraries, and maybe we could go to the oldest library and let people have a chance to see it up close and personal. I think if they go through it like I did and saw some of the materials in there, that, in and of itself, would prompt action,” Waters said. “If the history and the significance of the library were more readily known, I think it would boost Delaware County and Darby Borough. It would have a significant impact moving forward so I hope we can find a way to keep it open.”

Thomas also appears optimistic.

“This is our library; you think we’re going to let it close? No way we’ll let it close,” she said.